rice, and millet, taste great and are just as nutritious, if not more so, than wheat, barley, and rye. Food manufacturers are producing better-tasting gluten-free breads, crackers, baked goods, and other foods all the time. A word of caution here: The term “gluten-free” does not necessarily mean healthy; it just means no gluten. Processed foods of any kind are Bad Boys, with or without gluten.
Avoiding gluten is a bit of a challenge. If you’re only slightly sensitive, you can probably tolerate the small amounts that turn up in apparently innocent items such as ketchup and canned soup. The more intolerant you are, the more vigilant you need to be about reading food labels and questioning waiters. You’ll also want to separate your appliances, cutlery, and kitchen equipment, so you don’t inadvertently contaminate gluten-free items with those that contain gluten, even in small traces.
FIND THE HIDDEN GLUTEN
If you’re gluten intolerant, you already know to avoid wheat, barley, and rye. Oats and oat flour don’t contain gluten—in fact, oats are a common substitute in gluten-free baked goods. However, because oats often are processed using equipment that also handles other grains, buy only organic brands that state certified gluten-free on the label. In addition, some people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity also react to oats—if you have gluten symptoms after eating oats, you might be one of them.
Gluten is also found in some nutritional supplements (vitamins, minerals, herbs, etc.) and in some prescription and nonprescription drugs. It’s even in some lip balms and lipsticks!
Wheat by Other Names
Bran
Bulgur
Farina
Farro
Graham flour
Kamut
Semolina
Spelt
Triticale
Wheat germ
Dairy Products
Ice cream
Frozen dairy products (e.g., frozen yogurt)
Cheese spreads
Fruit-added yogurt (plain yogurt is usually safe)
Processed Foods
Candy bars
Chocolate
Energy bars
Hot chocolate mixes
Hot dogs
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (read the label)
Luncheon meats
Peanut butter
Sausages
Soup: canned, mixes, bouillon cubes
Condiments
Breading and coating mixes
Drink mixes
Gravy and sauce mixes
Ketchup
Marinade mixes
Mustard
Nondairy creamers
Salad dressings
Soy sauce
Dairy
Dairy is the perfect Bad Boy. Delicious and highly addictive, you wish you could have it every darn day, all day, but the truth is you’d end up fat, pasty, and inflamed. I apologize in advance to all the beautiful dairy cows I’ve met in my lifetime—and I live in a rural area, so I’ve met a lot of them. I admire your production capabilities, dear cows, but giving you up has changed my life, and my son’s life, forever.
In fact, the perils of milk-based foods are the main reason I wrote this book. Once I realized that many of my health problems, and those of my son, were based on eating dairy foods, our lives changed for the better. Eliminating dairy from our diets made a huge difference in our health.
Why? First of all, many people who eat dairy foods find that they stimulate mucus production. Your doctor will say that’s a myth. It’s true that not everyone who drinks milk or enjoys yogurt, cheese, or ice cream will produce more mucus, but many people have noted a distinct connection between these foods, their endless runny nose, and their allergy and sinus symptoms. The reason is the casein in milk. It turns out that a lot of people are allergic to this protein, and the allergy often shows up as increased mucus production. It can also show up as skin rashes, eczema, hives, diarrhea, cramping, bloating, and gas. Whenever a client comes to me about her mysterious rashes, we cut dairy, especially cheese, out of the diet for a couple of weeks. The rashes almost always clear up and stay away as long as casein stays out of the diet.
HAILEY A Problem with Gluten
Cutting out the gluten can really help your appearance. My client Hailey came to me with constant bloating and belly fat she just couldn’t lose. She was otherwise trim, and at age 33, she felt it was too early to have that midriff stuff going on! I assured her that nobody needs that at any age, and we got to work. Hailey told me her mom had carried the same type of belly fat her entire adult life and had also had endless, undiagnosed digestive issues. Hailey herself had periodic flare-ups of digestive problems, especially loose bowels after meals. The problem came and went, but Hailey would just vaguely attribute it to something she ate and never tried to pin down exactly what that was. She still had good energy and was able to do her design job well, so she never thought to visit the doctor or explore the source of this uncomfortable condition.
For many of us, it’s only when food intolerances begin to affect our outward appearance that we make that move to investigate further. With Hailey, a looming trip to Hawaii with her boyfriend made her decide to schedule an appointment with me. There’s nothing like the prospect of being seen in a bikini to get your butt in gear! Tracking down the source of Hailey’s digestive upsets and stubborn belly fat was relatively painless. We started with gluten, the most likely of her favorite Bad Boys. Hailey was very motivated to try going gluten-free for a couple of weeks. She started to lose the bloat within a week, showing that gluten truly was her problem.
Because casein is digested fairly slowly, you may not make the connection between your snack of milk and cookies at 2:00 p.m. and waking up feeling horribly congested the next morning. But if you’ve got sinus trouble that just won’t go away, or if your kid always has a chesty cough, try cutting this Bad Boy out of the diet for just a week. You’ll probably notice a big difference. And something to think about: casein from milk is the stuff used in glue—it’s why Elsie the Cow is on the Elmer’s glue bottle.
And something to think about: casein from milk is the stuff used in glue—it’s why Elsie the Cow is on the Elmer’s glue bottle.
Another reason dairy is such a Bad Boy is that while that sweet, creamy ice cream tastes great going down, it’s
